State police remove old grenade from Lamoine beach

LAMOINE, Maine — An old grenade that was found on a local beach drew the attention of a beachgoer and then the state police bomb squad before it was removed safely around noon Friday.

Stu Marckoon, Lamoine’s assistant fire chief, said Friday that the rusty grenade and its firing pin were spotted Thursday afternoon a few inches apart from each other at Lamoine Beach, a popular beach at the end of Route 184 that overlooks Frenchman Bay. The grenade was “well away” from the heavily used portion of the beach and the public was never in danger, Marckoon said.

By the time the beachgoer alerted town officials, who then alerted Maine State Police, the tide had come in and covered the spot where the grenade had been seen, according to Marckoon.

State police returned Friday morning and recovered the grenade. Marckoon said that the hole in the top of the grenade casing, where the firing pin mechanism had been, was packed with sand from the beach.

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“They said it was harmless,” Marckoon said, referring to members of the bomb squad who removed the device.